


Dark Lord

by ChainSmokesPens



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Demons, Fantasy, Flash Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-15 22:22:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28571457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChainSmokesPens/pseuds/ChainSmokesPens
Summary: Prompt: [WP] The Dark Lord succeeded! He conquered the world and everything in it, slain the chosen one and their allies, and stamped out every bit of resistance that opposed him. Sitting upon his throne, he frowns “...now what?”





	Dark Lord

My first year of rule started with an orgy of blood.

My legions decimated the Xelahr Kingdom and I, Adammon, Lord of the Necrolicht, personally saw to the deaths of the high king Llumenon and the chosen of Saunumon.

I unfurled my bleak, black clouds as a canvas along the sky to sever the ties of mortals to their other saints, spirits, and deities. Their only god would be the one on the throne of Xelahr, the Jewel of the Five Empires a pendant in his crown.

Of course, there were some matters that needed to be addressed before my reign could continue. After all, in this new world that I would craft in my image, I needed to assure the devotion of my new subjects.

And if not devotion, sacrifice.

One month following my taking of the throne, when the thrill of my achievement had settled into a quiet pride, I held a great council in the Halls of Belruht. Lords, nobles, and kings all kneeled before my throne, neither permitted to stand or speak without my permission. My advisors, sorcerers, and generals sat at a long table, facing them. And behind them, I, the Midnight God, was joined on my throne by Celeste, daughter of Llumenon, princess of Xelahr, and my trophy queen.

I began with a decree that once a month, the mortals of every realm in every corner of the world were to sacrifice every tenth person in a village. And that total annihilation would befall any settlement that did not comply. I facetiously asked if there were any objections.

And when the fool of a priest raised his head to speak, my ghouls grabbed him by his shoulders, dragged him before my council, and held a blade to his throat. General Cuthroat demanded to know the cause of his arrogance, eager to behead this foolish mortal. And I was ready to see the blood run.

However, what the priest said next gave me pause.

According to him, my aeons of defeat at the hands of the champions of Saunumon were due, in part, to the differences in what offerings we demanded. I demanded flesh and blood, but mortals have no true power over their flesh and blood. Some are born deformed or weak, all of them grow old or succumb to malady, and all return to the dust from whence they came.

Prayer, on the other hand, supplication, they had control over. The fruits of the heart provided more nourishment for the divine than fruits of the body. For millenia I'd seen them pour their hearts to Saunumon in their temples and shrines and homes so I knew this to be true.

The priest was spared and I decreed that my worship should begin in earnest across the lands.

The issue, next, was where this worship would be performed. I couldn't be sustained with worship performed in a sanctified House of Saunumon. Even if I tore it down the power of his blessings, however thin they were, ran in every brick. Fortunately, this was solved immediately.

A nobleman asked what taxes he should offer to his new god-king.

When I responded with supplication and reverence, he inquired about coin.

I scoffed at the idea. A genuine chuckle escaped me. Was I not more than the petty stones plucked from beneath the feet of these worms? What use did I, Prince of All You See, have of shiny rocks and mineral deposits of fabricated mortal significance? I demanded no taxes and rebuked him for making the assumption I would desire them.

As punishment, I decreed that each noble of each province would have their coffers melted down and molded into statues of my likeness. The people were to bow before these idols and offer them reverence with the same frequency at which they worshipped Saunumon.

Bloodletting could fill my stomach for today, but faith could sustain me for generations. And while this first decade was sure to be a lean one, I always looked to the future, and a religion established in my honor would only grant me greater power.

The next question arose regarding marriage, of all things.

With neither sanctuaries to worship in nor funds to funnel to the nobility of the realm, how we're marriages to be performed?

So, I outlawed marriage. Not the sexual union required to create more followers, mind you. Nor the act of two people sharing an abode and raising children together. But, the ceremony itself was forbidden.

To have marriage is to invite divorce. And when divorce occurs, the spiritual significance of marriage is thrown into question. And if I were to maintain my crop of faith, I couldn't have that. And neither me nor the servants of my castle had any need for coin, so I had no need to collect on the union of two strangers.

And so, it went.

I was asked to part my clouds that the fields could continue to grow. I agreed under the terms that I be thanked every meal for my harvest.

What would become of the guilds of adventurers? My ravaging of the world opened rifts and portals to a number of ancient, forgotten, and abandoned realms. Should there be anything of value to me in any of them, I wanted it. If the guilds wished to explore then they could explore there. Every depth of the sea, every inverted kingdom, every desolate dungeon, every bottomless cavern. They could adventure to their heart's contentment.

I was, oddly enough, asked what would become of Celeste.

More precisely, would I have an heir?

As I looked over my beautiful bride, I could see the shimmer of fear in her hazel eyes. I ran a clawed finger down her cheek and considered.

To breed the daughter of Llumenon, the Princess of Xelahr, the love of Saunumon's fallen hero, would sate my ego in ways beyond reckoning

However, as the only true authority remaining in the world, bringing in another powerful being like myself could only welcome competition.

I would not procreate.

The discussions and questions continued for a week. And, satisfied, all mortals who'd left their kingdoms were able to return.

Unscathed.

My second year of rule was filled with surplus for my subjugated masses and bountiful worship for me.


End file.
